Victoria Falls (Tokaleya Tonga Mosi-oa-Tunya, “The Smoke that Thunders”) is classified as the largest waterfall in the world based on it’s combined width of 1708 metres and height of 108 metres, resulting in the world’s largest sheet of falling water. Victoria Falls is almost twice the height of Niagara Falls and over twice the width of Horseshoe Falls. Victoria Falls gained World Heritage status in 1989.
The first European to have site of the falls was David Livingstone on 17 November 1855. He had been told of the falls before he reached them and was paddled across to a small island that now bears the name Livingstone Island in Zambia.
Zimbabwe’s Independence in 1980 saw renewed levels of tourism and the development of the region as a centre for adventure and adrenalin sports. These range from whitewater rafting, bunjee jumping from the Victoria Falls Bridge to fishing, game drives in surrounding national parks and flights over the Falls itself.
